Losing an indigo

A friend of ours, “ours” being the Drymarchon community, has recently suffered the loss of an incredible animal. While I have no words to beguile the grief our friend is feeling due to such a loss, I wanted to expound upon what most of us, who have members of the Dry clan within our charge, already know.
I have had the honor and privilege of working with, studying, keeping and breeding an array of reptiles and amphibians, but none have had the lasting impact or garnered my attention so much as the Drymarchon genus, as I still recall the day I saw and held my first Eastern Indigo, an incredible animal I found when I was just ten years of age. That was the defining moment, when I decided to focus my future studies on the natural world around us and I remember the feeling, just as it was yesterday, whenever I enter my herp room.
Drys harbor an incredible aura, sense of awareness and intelligence about them which cannot be rivaled, except perhaps by Elapidae, which bear such close semblance to Drys, that one of the leading herpetologist of our time, Dr. Wolfgang Wuster , affectionately coined them “honorary cobras”. While handling an elapid is an incredible feeling, the same can be said when handling Drys, as there is something quite unique about a large colubrid, but when you toss in the intelligence, demeanor and grace of a Dry, you are truly holding something incredibly exceptional and beyond words.
I have lost Indigos in the past and I currently have a geriatric specimen, which I am certain will not grace my facility much longer. I can say with a degree of certainty; losing a Drymarchon is akin to losing a long time family dog. It hurts, it hurts immensely, which only further demonstrates the rarity of such animals, as few harbor the ability to touch our hearts in such a manner.
To my friend, who has suffered such a recent and tragic loss, I know you will make yourself known in your own time and again, I know I cannot speak words to beguile your grief, but I hope you know that you are on our minds and in our hearts…

All my best,

Jeff

Well said.

Down but not out.

Thanks Guys. Hey, I'm down but not out. I will not quit. All I can do is learn from this, and drive on. I'm gonna miss her though. She was so dawgawn gentle. She was quite literally my lap snake. We watched several hours of t.v. together. You know? I bet we've all had one or two snakes like that. Near the end she drank water from a spray bottle, just like a kid would drink through a straw. She was dog tame. Such a sweet heart. But she hung on for three days after the vet got the eggs out. She labored for 24 hours before that. She did manage to push out 5 eggs before she went to the vet though. I'll be watching over them like a hawk! We looked at the x-rays together and counted another 9 or 10, still inside her, hard to be sure on 1, . But she was full. And they were very well adhered to the oviduct. He tried to induce labor with injections, but that did not do the trick. So he took the next step, and expressed them out, one at a time, deflating each one, and then extracting it. She was sedated during the procedure. I think it took him quite a while too, and it was evidently just to much for her. She did have a small tare. 3 days later, she was gone.

So today as I stared at her empty cage, I momentarily wondered,... why do I do this. Know really,...Why do we do this? Why would a human subject themselves to this kind of loss, again and again.Then as I turned to walk away, I saw one of the babies I hatched last year, just looking right at me, with her cute little mug poking out of that hide, and I said, "that's why."

And then I started to worry about Iris, who is about to lay a batch of her own. She hung up on the last 2 eggs, last year. The vet got those out quick and easy. I hope she does better this year. She should, as she is much bigger, and stronger now.

Now,...when are we goin fishin?! I need river time!
T.

Sorry for your loss Anthony.

Sorry about the loss AC.

Since she managed to pass some eggs on her own, I hope they hatch out as perfect babies for you.

Doug Taylor

Thanks guys. You know I'll be watching over those eggs like Papa T-Rex!
T.

Wow Anthony

My heart goes out to you!! When I sold Mack my black tail cribo, I cried....he was so amazing. I swear he had ears and could here everything I said to him. I would bring fresh cooked salmon and tap on the bottom of his cage and always called out "Mack,Mack" I swear he heard me...he would gently take the fish from my fingers (I would never do that with rodents) I still kick myself for selling him....god has a special place for our beloved snakies!

Thanks

to all who post. I guess when we decide to dedicate ourselves to these amazing creatures, we sometimes loose site of the fact, that we will almost always outlive the animals with which we work. There's just something about these animals which just won't let me quit. See my post "mama", and you will see one more reason for me to drive on.
T.